1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to guns. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved blowback mechanism for airguns.
2. Description of Related Art
Airguns are well known in the art. Generally speaking, an airgun uses compressed air to fire ammunition through a barrel. The compressed air may be contained in a reservoir or cartridge contained directly in the gun, e.g., in the handle of the gun, or it may be supplied through a hose or the like from an external reservoir. Airguns are often used for “plinking” and also may be used to hunt small animals.
Airguns generally are designed to operate like standard firearms. One conventional design includes a hammer that must be cocked before each firing. The cocked hammer, when released by pulling the trigger, contacts the back end of a firing pin that unseats a seal, allowing air to pass from the reservoir into the path of the barrel, firing ammunition contained in the gun. In this relatively simplistic design, the hammer must be cocked each time the gun is to be fired.
In some applications, it is undesirable to require a user to manually cock the gun before each firing. For example, manually cocking slows the rate at which ammunition can be discharged. Accordingly, there is need in the art for an airgun that fires ammunition at a greater rate, preferably without the need to manually re-cock a hammer before firing.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,267,119 describes a blowback mechanism for use in an airgun that allows the gun to operate as a “semi-automatic”. Specifically, the blowback mechanism is intended to automatically re-cock the airgun each time the gun is fired. The blowback mechanism of the '119 patent has many drawbacks, however. For starters, it is quite intricate and therefore difficult to fabricate. Moreover, in practice, that mechanism has some inefficiencies and failure points. There also is a need for an improved airgun capable of semi-automatic firing.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved blowback mechanism that facilitates semi-automatic firing of an airgun.